Clothesline fixture



p p 2, F. c. cum-as 2,426,924

CLOTHESLINE FIXTURE Filed April 11, 1945 Patented Sept. 2, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Fred 0. Curtis, Vallejo, Calif.

Application April 11, 1945, Serial No. 587,759

4 Claims. 1

This invention has reference to clothes lines and has for an object to provide means for preventing laundered material from becoming tangled up in the line pulley.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clothes line fixture including a reel, a guard for the line operating therein and a tensioning device for the line.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of my invention shown in operational position.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of one end thereof, looking in a direction of the arrows 2-2.

Figure 3 is a. section on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail view of one part of my device.

In the accompanying drawings, as above enumerated and in the following specification, like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout and the numeral l0, indicates a clothes line fixture and which consists of a clothes line reel H, a flexible clothes line guard l2 having a terminal portion l3, a clothes line tensioning device !4, and a brace member I5. The housing N5 of the reel is provided with a tubular mouth or discharge spout I l for dispensing the flexible covering I2. As shown in Figure 3, the sheathing I2 is split on its under side as at 2|], in order to permit said portion to drop down over the line 2|, connected to post 25 by the tensioning device l4.

Attached to the opposite sides of the housing l6, are brace arms 26 and 21, the lower ends of which are fixed to the arms 28 and 29 respectively, of an inverted U-member 30, which seats over the member l8, adjacent the end thereof, whereby the members l8 and I9, are held securely in place.

The covering member i2 is formed as a flexible tube of suitable material, and is slotted throughout its entire length, whereby the covering may be fed by hand from the reel ll, through the U-shaped guide 30 and onto the clothes line 2| until it covers the same to any desired length. Laundry may now be hung upon the covering l2 and the encircled clothes line 2| in the usual manner, protecting the clothes from soiling by dust or dirt upon the exposed clothes line. Winding the reel II will cause the retrogression of guidingly receiving and the member I2 and any wash attached thereto, the guard |2 being wound upon the reel and protected by the housing when not in use.

At this point, I desire to explain that the flexible tube, which is primarily to be wound of wire, is adapted to be pushed out over the tight wire by hand and can be wound back by the crank, that is, if it has a tendency to tangle on the drum when pulled back by hand. The tube is formed by a single wire folded upon itself to form a ribbon-like band and having the folds extending in parallelism and transverse said ribbon, with the marginal edges of the ribbon being then folded inward to form a tube having a longitudinal slot at one side. The transverse folds of the wire give longitudinal flexibility to the tube.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and rearrangement of details and parts such as come Within the purview of the invention claimed may be resorted to, in actual practice, if desired.

Having now described my invention that which I claim as new and desire to procure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination of a reel, a housing therefor having a mouth, a flexible tube extending through the mouth and extending horizontally and embracing a clothesline, means for supporting said clothesline, said flexible tube being split, a tensioning device for the line carried by said means, and a brace member secured to said housing including a U-member straddling said tube adjacent to the horizontal portion thereof.

2. The combination of a reel, a housing there for having a mouth, a flexible tube extending through the mouth and extending horizontally and embracing a clothesline, means for supporting said clothes line, said flexible tube being split, and a tensioning device for the line carried by said means and connected thereto at the rear of said split tube.

3. The combination of a reel, a housing therefor having a mouth, a flexible tube extending through the mouth and extending horizontally and embracing a clothesline, means for supporting said clothes line, and said flexible tube being split.

4. The combination of a. reel, 9. housing therefor having a mouth, a. flexible tube extending UNITED TA PATENTS through the mouth and extending horizontally Number Name Date and embracing a clothesline, means for support- 370944 Fish No 12, 1907 ing said clothes line, said tube being split for 5 79 390 Lash et 1 13 1903 ov ly e a i g a. c t es i 1, 13,4 cams Oct 28, 192 FRED 1,581,889 Tiede Apr, 20, 1926 1,888,745 Sonntag Nov. 22, 1932 REFERENCES CITED 2,126,073 Williams Aug. 9, 1938 The following references are of record in the 10 2,151,489 Vafit Mar. 21, 1939 file of this patent: 2,282,216 Faulkner May 5, 1942 

